COVID-19 | Daily Update

Wednesday, June 8th | COVID-19 Daily Update

CURRENT OUTLOOK 

So far, according to the daily epidemiological report released by the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS), there were 6 more deaths and 192 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Portugal. 

The bulletin reports that the number of fatalities rose from 1,479 to 1,485 (+0.41%), while confirmed cases increased from 34,693 to 34,885 (0.55%).

There are now 21,156 recovered patients (+0.77%).

 

PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL 

Experts, politicians, and social partners meet today, at Infarmed, in Lisbon, to analyze the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in Portugal, at a time when Lisbon and Tagus Valley recorded a higher number of cases.

Yesterday, the director-general of Health asked companies to take responsibility for complying with the guidelines of health authorities in the workplace, assuming a pedagogical attitude. The Government promises to reinforce the inspection of health rules. 

Tourist accommodation entrepreneurs in the Algarve are moderately optimistic, convinced that tourists will arrive in the summer, even though Europe is only gradually returning to normal air connections.  

Meanwhile, Madeira and the Azores were included in the list of the safest destinations to travel by European Best Destinations, at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has imposed several restrictions on the movement of tourists. 

Pedro Sánchez, Spanish Prime Minister, hopes to reach an agreement to open the country’s land borders with Portugal in early July. “Without a doubt” this will be possible, he said. 

The National Federation of Medical Doctors recognizes that the pandemic confirmed the quality of the NHS response, but exposed some deficiencies that result from chronic underfunding, such as the lack of material and the demotivation of health professionals.

 

PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD

To date, 7,003,851 cases of infected people have been recorded and also 402,867 deaths by COVID-19 worldwide.

Starting today, travellers arriving in the UK will have to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine, a measure imposed by Boris Johnson’s government to try to prevent a second wave of infections.

A factory that makes tests to detect COVID-19 was forced to destroy part of its production after U.S. President Donald Trump visited the space without a mask. Still in the USA, 691 deaths were registered due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 110,482 thousand deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. 

In Brazil, the Government released different data on the number of deaths and registered cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, at a time when authorities changed the way they communicate information about the pandemic.

The New Zealand Prime Minister is confident that the country has eliminated the transmission of COVID-19 for now, but admitted the possibility of new cases, ensuring that the country is prepared.  

On the other hand, the Mexican territory registered a total of 117,103 confirmed infections, which represents an increase of 3,484.

China diagnosed four cases of COVID-19, with the China Health Commission indicating that the new cases came from abroad and were detected in Shanghai. At the same time, China and Singapore today began an “air corridor” between both countries, to relaunch economic activity, at a time when they guarantee that the situation of the pandemic is under control.

The death toll in Africa due to COVID-19 has risen to 5,175, plus 134, in about 189,000 cases, in 54 countries.

 

MEDICAL PROGRESS

The drug Calquence, originally used to treat adults with a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, showed results in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

AstraZeneca made an initial approach to the North American competitor Gilead for a merger. The fusion between the two drug manufacturers to fight the new coronavirus could raise political questions, with governments seeking to control the manufacture of a possible vaccine or treatment for COVID-19.

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The Government presented a set of measures in what is called the Economic and Social Stabilization Program to stabilize the economy and relaunch activity after the confinement caused by the pandemic. The financial envelope exceeds 5.3 billion euros. One of the measures provides that families unable to repay loans granted by the State to pay the rent will be forgiven and will never have to return the money. 

The prices in the rental market have been falling since the beginning of the pandemic. On average, rents in Portugal have already been reduced by 17.7% in recent months. Lisbon is the only exception to this trend.

In the first quarter, the profits of quoted companies on the national stock exchange fell 55.9%, totalling 307.3 million euros. The pandemic has contaminated virtually all the “heavyweights” in the main Portuguese index.

Metro de Lisboa (Lisbon subway) was comparing April and May this year with the same period last year and pointed out that, due to the epidemic outbreak, this public transport service registered an 81% drop in the number of passengers. 

The turnover index in the industry in April, on the other hand, registered a drop of 33.1%, which is an increase compared to March when there was a drop of 8.7%. Thus, both sales to the national and international markets have not escaped the impacts caused by the pandemic.

 

FINANCIAL MARKETS

The main European stock exchanges continue to trade lower, except for Madrid and Milan, reversing the trend of openness after the publication of data on the German industrial sector.

Thus, Eurostoxx 600 continued to trade down 0.61% and European stock exchanges continued to trade between the fall of 0.79% in Frankfurt, 0.47% in Paris, and 0.28% in London. 

On the positive ground, Milan had an increase of 0.26%, and Madrid, a rise of 0.30%. Lisbon was down 0.69%.